Watermelon and Strawberry Chiller

If you are looking for a great way to use up leftover watermelon, then this chiller is for you! There are only three ingredients in this yummy drink.  Watermelon, frozen strawberries and lemon juice.  Yep, that's it!  While there are numerous chiller recipes out there, many of them contain sugar.  Why would you want to add sugar? Watermelon and strawberries are pretty sweet all on their own!!  For something a little different, I filled up an ice cube tray with some of the chiller mixture, tossed it into the freezer overnight and then put a few cubes into my glass of unsweetened tea instead of regular ice cubes. As the ice cubes melted, they lent a pretty neat taste to my tea!

I am definitely going to have one of these drinks today, the mercury around these parts is supposed to climb to over 90 degrees!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Phew, that's HOT!!
  

Ingredients:

6 cups seedless watermelon, cubed
1 cup frozen strawberries
1/2 cup lemon juice

In large bowl, put the watermelon, strawberries and lemon juice.  With large spoon, mix well.   Put two cups of the mixture at a time into a blender and "puree" until you get a smooth texture.  It took my blender about 10-15 seconds to get the right consistency. Serve immediately or keep refrigerated until ready to serve.  Makes 5 one-cup servings.

Peanut Butter/Honey Crispy Rice Treats

   
Where I live, lately it has felt like fall when you wake up and by late afternoon it feels like summer! I guess the weather can't make up it's mind.  I kind of felt that way about making these rice treats.  I kept going back and forth about whether I should make the "classic" ones with marshmallows or bump it up a notch and also add peanut butter and honey.  I'm glad I decided to try something different because these are delicious! I may never go back to making the classic ones again.    

Ingredients:

3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
3/4 cup honey
5 cups crispy rice cereal
1/4 cup margarine
10.5 ounce package mini marshmallows

In large pan, combine peanut butter and honey together with large spoon.  Turn on medium heat and stir occasionally for about 2-3 minutes until smooth.  Remove from heat and add the crispy rice cereal. Combine well and pour into large bowl. Set aside.  Reusing the same large pan, melt the margarine on medium heat and then add the marshmallows and simmer on low heat until all the marshmallows are melted.  Remove from heat and add to the mixture in the large bowl.  Mix well and then press into a lightly greased 9 x 13 inch pan.  Put in fridge for a minimum of one hour to firm up. Cut into 18 squares.  Cover with plastic wrap and keep at room temperature.

Chocolate Dipped No-Bake Desserts

My chocolate dipped "firecracker" pretzels were originally posted on the website below (where I am a parenting contributor) shortly before July 4th:

http://www.momseveryday.com/home/familyfun/headlines/cathyb-firecracker-pretzels-213518251.html 

Since Labor Day weekend is rapidly approaching, I was thinking that these pretzels would be awesome to make again since many people will be having picnics. They appeal to both kids and adults.  But, why stop at just chocolate dipped pretzels?  How about chocolate dipped potato chips?? I used a sturdy potato chip with the "ridges." In a small bowl, I melted a 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate morsels in the microwave.  I then dipped the potato chips in one at a time, put on a piece of waxed paper, added some sprinkles and popped them in the fridge for just a half hour.  I've always wanted to make chocolate dipped strawberries, so I decided to dip a few of those in the chocolate too! Who knew melted chocolate morsels could have so many uses?

Blueberry Shortcake

The above was on the dessert "menu" last night at Cathy's Kitchen.  One of my regular "customers" told me that he had never had blueberry shortcake before, only strawberry shortcake. How many of you have ever heard of the word "macerate?"  Sounds like a really fancy word, huh?  To macerate, is to take a food (usually a fruit) and soak it in a liquid. Since I like the combination of blueberries and lemons, I used lemon juice.  You are free to squeeze your own lemons or use bottled lemon juice (like I did).  Blueberry shortcakes aren't just for dessert, you can also have them for breakfast, like I did this morning with my cup of coffee!

Shortcake Recipe:

1 2/3 cup white flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon white sugar
1/4 cup shortening
3/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon white sugar (for sprinkling on top)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In large bowl, put the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and shortening.  Combine with large spoon and then add the milk. Mix until a soft dough forms.  Put the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead about 25 times into the shape of a rectangle 10 inches long and 7 inches wide and about 1/4 inch thick.  Sprinkle the entire top of the dough evenly with the one teaspoon of white sugar.  Cut into nine equal squares and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake 18 minutes or until the shortcakes start turning lightly brown both on the top and bottom.  Remove from oven and then transfer immediately to a wire rack to continue cooling.

Macerated Blueberries:

1 cup fresh blueberries, rinsed and drained
Two tablespoons lemon juice

In a small bowl, put the blueberries and lemon juice.  Stir with small spoon until all the blueberries are coated.  Cover and put in fridge for a minimum of a half hour and a maximum of 24 hours.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Baked macaroni and cheese is one of Lauren's all time favorites.  She has requested that the kitchen "staff" put it on the "menu" multiple times.  Anytime I have tried in the past to make the homemade cheese sauce, the end result has not been pleasant. I can never seem to get the right consistency, it is always super thin :(  I found the best substitute, condensed cheddar cheese soup!! The Campbell Soup Company makes two different versions of condensed cheddar cheese soup, the regular and the "Healthy Request" version.  I chose the latter, because it was a little lower in sodium, saturated fat and cholesterol.  This macaroni and cheese is delicious and easy to make.  The hardest part is waiting for it to come out of the oven so you can eat it!

Ingredients:

16-ounce package elbow macaroni, any brand
2 - 10 3/4 ounce cans condensed cheddar cheese soup
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In large pot or saucepan, cook the entire package of elbow macaroni to "al dente" according to the package instructions.  Drain thoroughly and set aside.  In a 2 1/2 quart baking dish, put the cheddar cheese soup, milk and shredded cheddar cheese.  Using a large spoon, mix well and then add the cooked macaroni and combine.  In a small bowl in the microwave or in a small saucepan on the stove, melt the butter.  Add the bread crumbs and with a small spoon,  mix and then sprinkle on top. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until cooked through and bubbly.  Serves six.

Blueberry and Lemon Muffins

Blueberries are still so incredibly inexpensive around where I live that we currently have several pints in our fridge at any one time.  Any kind of homemade bread item is always very popular with the regular "customers" here at Cathy's Kitchen.  This summer in particular, I have been tinkering around with several of my muffin recipes to make them just a little different than the ordinary.  I love the combination of blueberries and lemons, so I used some powdered lemonade in these muffins. It gives just the right amount of tartness, but not so much that you are puckering up your lips!

Batter:

2 cups white flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup yellow powdered lemonade
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup blueberries, rinsed

Topping:

1 teaspoon white sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners and set aside.  In a large bowl, put all ingredients except the blueberries in the order given and mix well with a large spoon. Set aside.  In small bowl or colander, rinse the blueberries with water, drain and then lightly pat them dry. Stir the blueberries in gently with the other ingredients until well combined.  Distribute the batter evenly between the paper liners. Sprinkle the one teaspoon of white sugar on all 12 muffins evenly and then bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of one of the muffins comes out clean.  Remove from oven, let cool five minutes and then remove to wire rack to continue cooling.

Chocolate Haystack Candy

While looking through an old candy cookbook of mine this week, I was thinking it would be kind of cool to make some homemade candy this holiday season (I know it's only August, but I like to think ahead)!  Most of the recipes in my cookbook had directions for candy that had to get to a "soft ball" or "hard ball" stage (which would mean I would have to use a candy thermometer, which I don't own).  After looking a little while, I found one that looked intriguing and more importantly, didn't require the candy thermometer!  It used chow mein noodles, butterscotch morsels, chocolate morsels and salted nuts.  Since the kids don't eat salted nuts and I didn't have any butterscotch morsels on hand, I just used the chow mein noodles and chocolate morsels. One word - AWESOME - just the right amount of salty and sweet!!!  There are many names for this candy:  haystacks, bird's nests, chocolate spiders and chocolate chow mein noodle candy. These were inexpensive to make - both the chow mein noodles and the chocolate morsels were the "house" brand from my favorite grocery store.  Guess how much the grand total was to make these? It was only $3.00!!  The hubby, Lauren and I were all "taste testers" for this candy and given that they are almost half gone, I think means we all liked them!! I'm pretty sure these "haystacks" will be making a repeat performance around the holiday season :)

Ingredients:

6-ounce package chow mein noodles, any brand
2 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate morsels, any brand

Pour the chow mein noodles into a large bowl and set aside.  Melt chocolate morsels, either in the microwave or in a saucepan on the stove.  When the chocolate is completely melted, pour over all the chow mein noodles and with a large spoon stir until all the noodles are well covered.  Drop by spoonfuls on a cookie sheet or tray covered with waxed paper. If you make the "haystacks" the size below, you should be able to get a dozen.

Please feel free to make them smaller or larger! When you are done, put into your fridge for at least one hour to let them harden up.  I keep them covered and stored in the fridge.